Schillerstrom announces run for governor
Illinois is the "laughingstock of the nation," Bob Schillerstrom says — but he isn't laughing.
Instead, Naperville resident and DuPage County board chairman Schillerstrom announced Sunday his bid for the gubernatorial candidacy in hopes that he can turn Illinois government back into an example for the nation.
(Corey R. Minkanic/For The Sun)
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• Schillerstrom runs for governor
"We're here today because Illinois is broken. Springfield has failed to meet the basic needs of the people of Illinois," Schillerstrom told a crowd of about 200 at his campaign kickoff party. "When you look at the indexes that grade states, the only one we're at the top of is the one on corruption ... we're the laughingstock of the nation."
The listening crowd, many wearing blue-and-white campaign T-shirts and waving blue-and-orange campaign signs, cheered in response and chanted "Bob for Gov!" at every opportunity. An additional 3,000 people tuned in to the announcement as it was streamed live via the Internet, and Schillerstrom will travel through the state Monday and Tuesday to meet with others.
Schillerstrom emphasized the importance of budget balancing, ethics reform and measures to make Illinois more business-friendly and bring more business-related jobs into the state.
Schillerstrom, who has chaired the DuPage board since 1998, said his experience with the nearly 1 million-person county will be good training for the gubernatorial position.
"We do things differently here in DuPage County than they do in Springfield. We believe in planning," he said. "We look five years out, not five minutes or five days. We balance our budget. We have reserves."
State representatives Darlene Senger, R-Naperville, and Michael Connelly, R-Naperville, both endorsed Schillerstrom at the event. Connelly served on the DuPage County Board under Schillerstrom from 2006 to 2008.
"You may have heard Springfield has revenue problems. At one point, years ago, DuPage County had revenue problems," Connelly said. "Bob Schillerstrom ... froze salaries and introduced a new-hire moratorium. Contrast that with what's going down in Springfield, today where the Democrats are throwing the developmentally disabled out on the street."
Schillerstrom has set a high standard for Naperville and DuPage County officials and will set the bar equally high for state officials, Senger said.
"As an elected official, you get a sense, you get those butterflies in your stomach, that you know this is a good thing and you know that something's happening," said Senger. "Well, I feel that right now. This is really exciting."
So far, the following have or are considering running for the GOP nomination for governor: DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett, citizen activist Adam Andrzejewski, state Sen. Bill Brady, state Sen. Kirk Dillard, state Sen. Matt Murphy and political commentator Dan Proft, according to the Illinois GOP Web site.
